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Excelsior!

Holmes, Moses B., Excelsior Writing Book ….

Moses B. Holmes (1837-1894) lived in Campton, New Hampshire. He married Ann M. Bartlett (1839-1914) and the couple had two children, Willie B. Holmes and Lewis Holmes. Moses was young when he began writing in this writing book, which was manufactured by Norton and Crawford in Concord, New Hampshire; some of the writing is dated 1851 and 1857. Moses appears to have been quite the romantic, copying and even composing his own poems about love, including many reinterpretations of the classic “roses are red…”–“The sun is red / The moon is white / I hope that I shall see you tonight.” Not only is the volume filled with verses, but it is quite unusual in its abundance of doodles and sketches. One page in particular features rows of trees and birds, with text weaving through the pictures – “What is more beautiful than the weaping [sic] Willow”, and “I know thou art beautiful / Becaus [sic] I love the more I love”. The last page of the volume features a list of school children (Moses included) in Campton in 1851.